Avoiding summer crowds in Benelux

My wife and I are tagging along on another couple's summer trip this year, heading from Munich up to Belgium. We're basing in Gent for a couple days (on the tag-along part of the trip), then have three more days (on our own) before flying out of Dusseldorf. We'll have a car.

We've never been to Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, or northern France before, and we're not trying to see "everything," just have an enjoyable five days and figure out if we want to do a longer vacation there later. The catch is I really dislike tourist crowds and lines, and kind of want to avoid the too-popular sites (and yes, summer is a bad time to be agoraphobic in Europe), while not missing all the good stuff. So I guess I'm looking for underappreciated gems?

As for preferences, we're history geeks, so older cities (especially Spanish-Dutch War sites) and museums get extra points. Thoughts? more »

Anyone going to Amsterdam/ Zaanse Schans

Hello All,

Is anyone going Amsterdam/ Zaanse Schans from Brussels ,I need a small help .

Thanks & Regards,
Anurudh Dubey

Buying used bike and instrument in Brussels

Might be in Brussels in late July for a couple days and thinking about extending my trip to include some exploring. I've always wanted to bike around Belgium, and I'm also a musician, so I thought I might be able to combine these two and go on a bit of a busking tour. I've been looking at the busking permit situations and couchsurfing options in Brussels, Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, and Liege (any other towns worth seeing?) but I'm also thinking that the Ryanair fees for my banjo or guitar along with the hazards of travel might make it worth just getting something there.

I assume that there are secondhand shops in town, but what kind of prices would I be looking at for a rideable men's bike and a playable acoustic guitar? I've heard of "kringwinkels" and "les petits riens," are those the main places to shop? What about online marketplaces similar to craigslist or gumtree?

Cheap rail fares from Brussels to Amsterdam?

Hi,

I need to travel from Brussels to Amsterdam on Friday 24th May, I would prefer to take a train rather than a coach however looking online the train fares I am seeing are over 70 euros one way which seems high....

I have checked bahn.de which is not quoting any fares which is odd, Thalys and raileurope, it appears that the Fyra trains are no longer running... have I missed any options or is this actually the cheapest train fare available between these cities on this date?

Thanks in advance!

We from amsterdam

hi all,

We got 15 days from amsterdam. But we have no idea. We wan to go the places from london, holland, belgium, berlin, paris, venice, milan, florence, pisa, rome.? anyone can share a suggestion? thanks.

Travel plan to attend Belgian Grand Prix

I am a big F1 fan but never been to one live. Now I have the chance to attend the best circuit of them all - Spa Francochamps in Belgium.My wife has offered to finance a trip from the UK to the race but asked me to get the details.

The trouble is that most of the Package Deals on the F1 site include a Brussels hotel, whereas the circuit is 150km away in the Ardennes. I think Malmedy is the nearest town, but I would like some tips on how to get there.

I can book a hotel in Malmedy on line.

I can buy the race ticket on line.

I live not far from Bristol Airport and so should be able to get a flight to Brussels on Friday before the race.

My problem is to get from Brussels to Malmedy. I have never driven in Europe (but have driven on the right side in the US a lot) and am not too keen to do so during a Grand Prix weekend. The alternative is a train but I am not sure if M... more »

Hiring Car in Brussels which can be driven to Central Europe

Hello,

We are planning a 15 day road trip of Europe, starting in Brussels on May 11. We plan to cover Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Czech, Slovakia and Austria.

Can someone recommend a car-hire company which allows us to drive the hired car into all these countries without any special requirements? We looked at some options on Economy Car Rentals but it seems you cannot easily drive into Czech Republic or Slovakia... is that true? Is it true that the insurance rates are different depending on which country you drive into even if it is in Schenghen network?

Any help in this regard will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Reserving cycle space on a Brussels-Amsterdam Thalys train

Hello,
I've booked myself on a Thalys train from Brussels to Amsterdam, and I want to take my bicycle on it. Do I have to reserve a space, and if so, how?
Many thanks, Martin